1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shoes containing electrically conductive components and, more particularly, to an integral shoe design having an electrically conductive component for providing an electrical conduit between the user's foot and the ground for enhancing human physical performance.
2. Description of the Related Art
This invention is an improvement of my U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,840 (1995), entitled Shoe Containing Electrically Conductive Integral Elements. The invention more particularly relates to efficient means of providing a path of electrical conduction between the outsole of the shoe and the foot of the user and, as well, relates to a conductive sock particularly adapted for use therewith.
Typically, shoes are completely comprised of electrically non-conductive components or, they are partially comprised of components that do not provide an electrical conduit between the wearer's foot and the ground. The wearer's foot is typically insulated from the ground, particularly in athletic footwear, where the shoe sole is typically comprised of non-conductive rubber or other polyurethane or synthetic soling material.
It has been known for many years to provide electrically conductive components in connection with footwear that exhibit the ability to conduct electrical charge to ground for various purposes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,305,542 discloses a process for rendering leather conductive, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,013,184 discloses a “booty” with an electrically conductive sole. Other footwear exhibiting a lesser ability to conduct electrical charge has been used, for example, by persons in the electronic and computer industries who must void and/or discharge static electricity that may build up on their clothing and body. Various methods have been proposed for causing static electricity to be discharged from the body and clothing and these expedients have often resulted in cumbersome, expensive and poorly designed shoes. For example, body-grounding straps are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,586,747 and 2,712,098. Other antistatic or conductive straps in various forms and for various purposes have been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,083,124; 3,694,939; 4,551,783; and 3,737,723. Electrically conductive elements comprising or extending through various shoe sole layers, such as a foot pad, insole, midsole and the like, in order to make contact with the bottom sole of the wearer's foot have been disclosed in various forms as, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,261,072; 2,710,366; 3,079,530; 4,727,452; 4,366,630; 4,689,900; and 4,785,371. Other electrically conductive elements have been used in footwear designs such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,532,724 and 3,898,750. All these devices appear to be uncomfortable to wear, difficult and/or expensive to manufacture, unsightly and/or structurally awkward or unsound.